The bar and balcony at the Rumpus Room in the Mondrian hotel in London.

The bar and balcony at the Rumpus Room in the Mondrian hotel in London.

Photo: Mondrian London

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The bar and balcony at the Rumpus Room in the Mondrian hotel in London.

The bar and balcony at the Rumpus Room in the Mondrian hotel in London.

Photo: Mondrian London

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Drinking in the views of London

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It takes more than a stiff upper lip to write a “discriminating guide” to a city that arguably helped define discriminating tastes. Fortunately, the groundwork for “James Sherwood’s Discriminating Guide to London” ($30, Thames & Hudson; available for preorder at Amazon) set down in the 1970s by founder James B. Sherwood is being updated in the same style, standards and voice by, coincidentally, another James Sherwood of no relation. And the goal remains the same, to be “an unabashed companion to the very finest experiences in the world’s most cosmopolitan city.”

“This book is unashamedly a celebration of the finest the city has to offer,” writes James Sherwood (the updater) in the preface. “I have, however, endeavoured to include delights that do not require you to pawn the family tiara or sell a kidney.” Here are the book’s tips for “Where to drink ... under the stars.”

More by Spud Hilton

Kensington Roof Gardens: “Cliched it may be, but we can only liken the wonder on first seeing the 1½-acre pleasure gardens on top of the old Derry & Toms department store on Kensington High Street to ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ You truly do leave the sepia world at street level and emerge in glorious Technicolor. Pink flamingos (two of whom are christened Splosh and Pecks) roam free in miniature lakes stocked with fish.” 99 Kensington High Street W8; www.virginlimitededition.com/en/the-roof-gardens.

Rumpus Room: “The views over the Thames towards St. Paul’s and the City make one feel as if one is on the Bund in Shanghai, though we sincerely hope the high-rises aren’t allowed to scrape any more sky in the near future. There’s a long outside terrace that we’ve yet to try without the benefit of mink, but it could be the most coveted real estate in London for cocktail drinkers come high summer.” Mondrian Hotel, 20 Upper Ground SE1; www.mondrianlondon.com.

Radio Rooftop Bar: “Radio has all the poise of a glacial Nordic blonde at a boat show. Low sofas with white-leather cushions and faux-chinchilla throws form intimate enclosures surrounding cocktail tables, and the 180-degree views from the modest height are, we think, perfection. Looking down from the Shard or the City skyscrapers makes London look like an ants’ circus, but from the Radio you feel like a commodore standing at the prow of a ship.” ME London, 336-337 Strand WC2; www.melia.com.